Marina loved the summer.

The days were longer and the weather was beautiful. No rain or snow. No bare trees with branches that stuck out like sickly limbs. Just the sun shining high in the sky and an abundance of colorful forest all around her. But she especially loved the sunsets during this time of year which she was in the process of trying to see right now.

She soared through the woods, playfully ducking and weaving through the branches. She would catch a moth here and a mosquito there. They were always plentiful at this time of day. Up and around the creek bed, turning right at the giant trees with odd faces that the humans had made, she came to a small tree that grew from the base of a cliff and stretched over the ocean. Grasping the branch with her claws, she swung upside down, facing the seemingly never ending ocean.

The sun was hovering just above the water now, the light of day turning to a bright orange with a hint of the approaching darkness of night. Were this a few seasons ago, she would have been killed by the owls for being out in the day. But thanks to someone who she knew oh so well, things had changed.

Marina's thoughts came to envision the heroic Silverwing whose name would be remembered by all bats for generations to come. How he had saved his entire colony from not only wolves and owls but a pair of giant southern cannibal bats. The tiny bat that had learned to take sounds and project them into images and ability that only Tiger Moths were thought to have possessed. A bat that, after being banished to darkness for thousands of years, brought back the sun for them all. But he also gave her something that she would remember him for more than any of this.

He gave her a home.

Marina had spent many a day in the old hollowed out Oak tree on the east side of the island. It was enormous, with channels of passages turning every which way. It could have sheltered up to well over a thousand bats. But despite its spacious room and safe haven, it was anything but home for Marina. Everyday was as lonely as the next. The tree held an unbearable silence that she could not stand. It reminded her of how empty her life had become.

But now the tree was full of Silverwings. Young and old, big and small. The tree had been given new life and Marina had been given a new colony. A new family. All had accepted her, despite being a Brightwing and not to mention the band that occupied her wing. Unlike her own colony, they paid no heed to the superstitious mystery that surrounded the band. Even Frieda, their highest respected elder had a band and the two had many conversations about the truth of the silver piece of metal. They had many theories on its existence but on one thing they could definitely agree on was that it was not a curse.

All because of him.

Marina sighed and looked out to the ocean, the waves softly crashing into the rocks below. The sun was beginning it's descent below the horizon, the few clouds that surrounded it illuminated with orange and purple.

"How could so much time pass and things still be the same?" She thought. The bright furred bat often had that thought when her mind was occupied with the Silverwing. Marina shook her head as the memory of that stormy cold day in the stump returned to her. It was a painful one and the shame never went away when she remembered.

"You were just a stupid teenager. That's what you do at that age. I mean, he looked at the SUN for Nocturna's sake. But you had your reasoning's. He wouldn't have understood. It's better this way."

But despite her self reassurance, even Marina had a hard time buying that excuse. It was true that she was just a teenager when things happened the way they did. Now as an adult, she thought that her reasoning's for doing what she did would have changed. But it never did.

"You're still just a dumb teenager." She said to herself softly.

"Are you talking about me again?" Came a voice from above her.

Marina nearly jumped out of her fur and looked up to see the cause of all her stress and wild emotions, perched on top of the branch and staring down at her with that smile she loved so much. "Nice Shade," She replied dryly. "Next time just shake the branch until it breaks to kill me and spare the heart attack."

Shade chuckled and swung upside down next to her. Marina felt an all too familiar tightness that formed in her stomach whenever he was this close to her.

"Sorry. I'll remember that next time." He said, his voice ringing with amusement. The two hanged there in silence, watching the sun slowly sink itself into the sea. Marina tried not to watch the other bat from the corner of her eye but found it difficult. She was sure he still had a smile on his muzzle and the most relaxed expression. He always did.

Shade was far from the trouble making runt he used to be.

The Silverwing had grown fairly large over the seasons, growing taller than even her though still small by average standards. His chest was much larger with broad powerful shoulders and thick arms. As with all adult males, a blonde goatee had grown on his chin that she was sure he had spent forever grooming to look right. There were a few knicks on his large ears, caused by the battles between him and Goth. At first he seemed embarrassed by them but that soon changed when all the females told him it made him look 'dashing' and 'heroic'.

Marina mentally frowned as she remembered how every female suddenly wanted to be his friend after the epic journey he had endured.

How they fawned all over him whenever he was telling the story of how he tricked Goth with his echo projection of Cama Zotz for the hundredth time. How they followed his every wing beat when he went out hunting. And how, when they were younger, they use to come between Shade and herself whenever they were roosting.

She hated that.

"Marina?"

Shade's deep voice brought her out of her trance and she saw that he was staring at her. "Are you alright? You were zoning out there." He asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine. Just…had a long day." She replied, forcing a smile. Shade didn't return it as he looked back out over the ocean.

"I see you've been hanging around Chinook a lot recently." He said out of nowhere, causing her to give him a puzzled look.

"Yeah. And you're asking this because…" She answered, trailing off at the end so he could finish the sentence. Shade said nothing but swung up to the top of the branch so he could stand up straight. Marina watched him for a moment, still confused but followed his example. Shade was still silent as his eyes remained fixed on the sunset.

"So when did he become your best friend?" Shade finally answered her. Marina narrowed her eyes at him and frowned. She didn't like his tone.

"What are you talking about Shade? You're my best friend. You know that."

"I know you've been avoiding me." He stated softly, completely ignoring her response. His eyes had moved down to his feet, refusing to look at her. Before Marina could respond, he continued.

"I didn't notice at first. You seemed so happy to be with so many that accepted you. I was more than happy to let you make new friends and to make sure you felt like you belonged."

Shade finally brought his eyes up to hers and gave a small apologetic grin. "Everyone loved you. They all wanted to be your friend. Especially Chinook. But I knew that things between us wouldn't change. I knew that we would still be the best of friends. Because that's what you wanted."

Shade's grin vanished and it was quickly transformed into a frown. Marina didn't say anything. She couldn't it she wanted to. She knew where this was going.

"But as the seasons went by, I saw less of you. You didn't roost with me anymore. You went out hunting with others. And Chinook," Shade growled the other bat's name. "All I could hear was the rumors that were floating around. That you and he were becoming more…and it killed me."

"Don't Shade." Marina whispered. This was a conversion she never wanted to have. But Shade didn't stop.

"I never said anything because I remembered what you told me. About not wanting to lose what we had. So I endured it. But…"

The Silverwing stopped and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. He turned to face Marina whose face was written with fear and sadness.

"I can't do it anymore. I can't live with what we are."

"Shade." Marina interrupted, her voice shaky but serious. "Please stop. I know that Chinook have been spending a lot of time together…but it's not what you think. I just…"

She trailed off at the end, trying to find some sort of excuse but found she had none. Shade stepped closer to her making her suck in a breath and her eyes quickly wandered his frame to which she cursed herself for doing.

"I know you feel it too." He said. Marina shook her head at him, her long hair swaying back and forth.

"No Shade. We can't…I don't…"

"If you really felt that way, you wouldn't have been avoiding me. But you do. Because you feel the way I do but you're scared. That's what I don't understand Marina. What are you afraid of?"

"Shade, I'm begging you," Marina pleaded, her voice breaking slightly. "Please just drop this. We can go back to the way things use to be. I won't spend so much time with Chinook. You and I…"

"Stop ignoring the question. This isn't about Chinook." Shade told at her, his voice taking on a slightly annoyed tune.

Marina sneered at him, her demeanor taking a quick change. "Really Shade? Then why did you bring him up? You always bring him up. Back when you were looking for your colony, that's all you could talk about. How much he picked on you and that he was a lunk head. You may have grown up but you haven't outgrown your jealousy."

Shade opened his mouth to retaliate but the Brightwing cut him off.

"And who are you to guilt me about avoiding you? Every time I see you, you're off with some female hunting or going to the lake or telling another one of your 'heroic' stories. You could have come to me Shade. You could have put in some effort." Marina seethed. At this point, her temper was getting harder and harder to control.

"Why do you even need me at all? You could be with any one of those girls! They would be more than happy to have the hero bat on their wing to show off to the entire world! So why don't you just fly off with one of them huh?"

Marina finished her rant and spun away from him, wings folded over, her slender body shaking with anger. She blinked her green eyes a few times to try and keep the tears from falling. There was silence after that. The sun had set long ago, the sky now covered in the blanket of night. The two bats stood in the darkness, neither speaking nor moving.

"Because they're not you." Shade's calming voice finally spoke out.

Marina said nothing but she could feel a painful tug at her heart as his words graced her ears. She felt the weight of the branch shift as Shade took another step towards her, the heat of his body radiating onto her back. A tingle ran up her spine.

"Maybe you're right about my effort," He said, his warm breath tickling the back of her neck. "Maybe I could have come to you more. But things wouldn't have changed Marina. You and I would still be on this branch, saying what we're saying."

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Things would still have gone the way they did. She continued to stare out into the night, the sounds of the tide crashing against the shore even louder now.

"Those other females, I know they only like me because of what happened. They don't care about me and I don't care about them." Shade stated. "You think I like telling the same story over and over again to a bunch of whiney girls? Even I'm bored of me after telling it so many times."

Marina tried to stifle a laugh, succeeding only a little as a small chuckle escaped. Shade smiled.

"And…maybe I am still jealous of Chinook." He mumbled quietly. "But only because I knew he liked you and…"

Marina waited for him to continue but was met with another silence. She turned her head and saw that Shade was staring at his feet again. Turning completely around she asked him,

"And?"

Shade brought his head back up and tried to speak but no words came out. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"I didn't want to lose you to him. Chinook has always beaten me at just about everything. He always got what he wanted. But I realized as I got older that those things didn't really matter…except for you"

Marina's face softened as Shade felt the all too familiar feeling of embarrassment wash over him. "He can be the biggest bat in the colony. He can be the best flyer. Hell, he can even be the hero who brought back the sun for all I care. But…he can't have you." He finished quietly.

Marina was speechless. So much was being taken in that her head started to spin and she started to feel dizzy.

"Marina." The sound of her name leaving his mouth sounded like music to her ears as looked her straight in the eyes.

"I love you."

Her heart practically leapt out of her chest as the words floated past his lips. She wanted to say something, anything but nothing came out. Shade inched closer to her, looking down at her with a look that told her he wasn't making this up. Slowly, the other bat leaned forward, his mouth just inches from her own. Marina found herself being drawn towards him and just before the two touched, she turned away.

"I can't." She croaked.

"Yes you can." Shade urged. "I know you're scared. I just don't understand why, so please, tell me."

Marina said nothing, her cheeks dampening from the tears that fell without resistance. She felt Shade grasp her softly by the shoulders and she let out a sob at the warmth of his touch. One that she had wanted for so long.

"Because I'm not worth it Shade. I'm bad luck." She cried. Shade furrowed his brow and shook his head in confusion.

"No you're not. Marina, if this is about the bands…"

"I'm not talking about the bands!" She yelled, breaking free from his hold.

"Everyone I've ever cared about in my life I've lost! I lost my family and my colony. I spent my entire adolescent life alone and anyone who came near me ran at the first sight of this." She held up her wing, catching her reflection in the tiny piece of metal.

"Then you came along. You didn't run away. You stayed with me and each day we spent together I could feel myself growing closer to you. But then we met Goth and Throbb. After that, all I could think about was how I was going to lose you. How I was going to get you killed."

"But you didn't." Shade said.

"It felt like it was only a matter of time. That's why that day in the stump…I pushed you away. I didn't want us to get closer than we already were because the sting of you gone from my life would have been too much."

Marina lowered her head, a few tears running off her cheeks and dropping into the sea below. "My colony, my family…I got over losing them Shade. But you…you would be the one loss I couldn't bare."

Shade stared at her with stunned silence. Marina faced him and wiped a tear away, saying, "I am cursed Shade but not because of the band. I was born this way. And if you and I…do this, then it's doomed from the start."

"No."

Marina was taken back at the harshness of Shade's response. He shook his head at her, his eyes hard and a small flame alit within them.

"I won't accept that Marina. You are not cursed. If you were then I would never of have found my colony. I never would have beaten Goth. I would have given up. But you were there to keep me going."

"But I could of…"

"You didn't. Isn't that proof enough? You say that you think you will lose me." Shade grabbed her again and pulled her tightly against his chest. "I'm telling you right now, you will never lose me. Ever."

With that he kissed her. Marina was frozen at first. She didn't know what to do but soon enough, she let go of what was holding her back and kissed back. She wrapped her wings around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Shade broke away and leaned his forehead on hers.

"I love you Marina. And if you be with me, I'll never let you go."

"Promise me you won't leave." She whispered, close to tears again.

"I promise."

"Then I love you too Shade."

The two bats kissed again, their hearts both swelling. Marina pulled herself as tight as she could to him as if she was afraid the light summer breeze would blow her away. They broke away and she nuzzled her face into his mane.

"I'm still afraid Shade." She murmured. Shade squeezed her tightly in response.

"Don't be. If huge cannibal bats, owls, rats and wolves can't tear me away from you, then nothing will."

Marina gave him a loving smile and gently kissed him again. There was still fear and doubt inside her but Shade's words had severely weakened them. Maybe she just had to believe in something. After years of being alone and never letting herself hope for anything, it was hard to hold on to belief. But being here, in the wings of her hero, her best friend and now her lover, the idea of belief didn't seem so impossible now.

And her love for Shade was worth believing in.

The End

A/N: Finished! I feel that this chapter wasn't as good as the first but I'll see how you guys enjoy it. I can always rewrite it if I have to. Thanks to all who have read and will read! Until next time! Cya!